Claire Ong – New Light Bursary Winner
State of a Nation
£8,200.00
Screen printed, laser cut, quilted panels, hand stitching, applique textiles
195cm x 195cm
There were so many strong textile pieces shortlisted in the exhibition that we thought it was very apt to invite the Managing Director of Sunny Bank Mills, William Gaunt, to select a New Light Textile Bursary Winner.
‘I’m still in a state of delighted shock to have received the textiles bursary!
Absolutely delighted that I’ve been awarded the bursary by @newlightart – my work is about capturing feelings and it’s amazing to think that it resonates with others. This bursary has given me the confidence to continue to push the boundaries of textiles and start all the pieces I’ve been hesitating on making. Thank you!’
Claire Ong
This work grew from the artist’s desire and drive to document the 2024 UK general election campaign unfoldings, creating a material manifestation and record events that appeared otherwise unreal.
As she witnessed the ebb and flow of political discourse spewing online and in print, Ong plucked these absurd, eternal pronouncements and almost feverishly constructed her quilt, one block a day throughout the campaign.
These quotes, flippantly stated as fact by our political leaders, stand as a physical record of their accountability.
Ideas and beliefs are abandoned, indeed erased, with no lasting regard for promises made; statements recorded, often cruel, mostly cavalier, by speakers secure in the knowledge their words are evaporable.
The piece brings the viewer along on the rhythmic journey of chaos and change with the domesticity evoked by the quilt conveying how this maelstrom of news dominated our daily life during this period, ultimately making its consequences concrete.
